The present invention is directed to a tall triangular aquarium wherein the height is many times the width of the widest side and a method of making the aquarium.
Aquariums are, of course, well-known in the prior art, and while there is no recognized standard shape, one of the most common is the rectangular with approximate dimensions of 22 inches high, 18 inches long and 8 inches wide. However, many other geometric shapes have been disclosed, such as the triangular shape of U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,789, issued to Eugene Richard on Oct. 10, 1972. This triangular aquarium has three separate side panels which are bonded together with glue or a similar material. In this and other standard aquariums, in order to maintain the sides in watertight abutment, a border strip of metal is affixed to the top and/or bottom of the aquarium. As the height of the aquarium increases, the water pressure against the sides and their connecting joints increases and furthermore, as the number of seamed joints increases, the chance of failure of one of the joints increases. The metal or plastic border strips are needed for reinforcing strength and are aesthetically unattractive and detract from the artistic lines of the aquarium.
Early developments of the inventor overcame the disadvantages of the prior aquariums with three separate side panels bonded together by using a single sheet of transparent material folded upon itself to form the body or chamber of the aquarium. The inventor's aquarium with the side walls formed from a single sheet of material requires only bonding along one edge, thereby eliminating the need for the border strip and reducing the possibility of seam failure.
In the inventor's early developments, the folded side walls of the aquarium which form two included angles of less than 90.degree. would frequently rupture at the bending point. This type of fracture in the early aquariums usually occurs after several weeks of use and results from a weakening of the material along the folded angle area during the bending and changes in atmospheric temperature and pressure over a period of time. When the material is folded to form the triangular body, the material thickness along the bending line is substantially reduced. The pressure, above atmospheric pressure, against the side walls of an aquarium approximately 5 feet in height is on the order of magnitude of 300 pounds per square foot. The weakended area of reduced thickness fails under this pressure and the uncontrollable failure renders the early tall triangular aquarium unreliable.